Overnight protest crowd grows for 10th night of sit-in

The 10th day of a sit-in at Florida’s Capitol ended with a crowd of about 100 protesters planning to camp out in the first-floor hallways, with the number swollen by new arrivals from Philadelphia and a handful of ministers from across the state.

Youth United for Change brought about 30 people from Philadelphia to the Tallahassee event, which has been going on even as Gov. Rick Scott has steered clear of the Capitol. Scott has been lately in Colorado at the Republican Governors’ Association gathering while protesters in the Capitol lobby call for a special session to repeal the state’s stand your ground law and a host of juvenile justice changes.

The protest started July 16, following George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the shooting death of teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford.

“We came with you all because we are all dreamers,” Saeda Clark, with Youth United, told the crowd gathered Thursday at the Capitol, led by the Dream Defenders, a statewide youth advocacy group. “There will be no more Trayvon Martins, as of today, staring with us.”

About a half-dozen ministers from Orlando, Gainesvilee, Tallahassee and Pensacola also planned to stay overnight at the Capitol in support of the protesters. One of the clergy, Kevin Thorpe, said the ministers are part of People Improving Communities through Organizing (PICO).